Walk the walk & talk the talk? Yes, he can!

Peter GelzinisWednesday, January 30, 2013

Credit: Stuart Cahill

SPECIAL DELIVERY: Mayor Thomas M. Menino delivers the State of the City address last night at Faneuil Hall.

Credit: John Wilcox

INTRIGUE: Above, U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey, left, and U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch shake hands before the State of the City address last night at Faneuil Hall. The two are expected to compete in the Democratic primary of the U.S. Senate special election.

Credit: John Wilcox

Credit: John Wilcox

In the end, it was the irrepressible Rev. Eugene Rivers who captured the most important 50-foot stroll of Thomas Michael Menino’s public life.

“That dude didn’t just walk into this hall tonight, you understand,” Rivers said, of the mayor’s unassisted entrance into Faneuil Hall, “Tommy, man, he gangsta-walked in here, you hear what I’m sayin’?

“The message the man sent out to all those pretenders to the throne was, ‘Any of you wanna piece of this?’ ”

Indeed, what all the pols and wannabes came for last night was not just to see Tom Menino give his 20th State of the City address, but rather to see for themselves how well he was able to motor up to the podium.

And before Tommy ever uttered a single word, the three-minute standing ovation that accompanied every inch of his cane-assisted walk confirmed the instant reaction that made its way around the hall like electricity.

“He ain’t going anywhere.”

In fact, before Menino could acknowledge all the usual suspects in the hall, including the special guest appearances of folks such as Ed Markey, John Tierney, Steve Lynch and Mike Capuano, someone yelled out.

“Four more years!”

And that sparked another wave of applause.

To be sure, Menino’s face still seems to bear the traces of the ordeal he’s been going through the past four months. But without a doubt he was able to answer the heavy air of anticipation about how well he would take the hall and how forcefully he would underscore the health of this city.

He succeeded on both counts.

“I don’t know, but I thought I saw a tear in the corner of John Connolly’s eye,” one City Hall wag said of the West Roxbury pol who is said to be among a hungry clique of city councilors showing symptoms of a Cassius-like fever.

But Tom Menino did more than simply erase doubts, or douse ambitions. He warmed hearts with humility and gratitude.

“I stand before you a grateful mayor,” Menino said. “I am just Tommy Menino from Hyde Park. I can’t tell you how humbled I am and how lucky I feel. I don’t need fancy words to say this to all of you.

“You pulled me through.”

City Councilor Charles Yancey agreed that the man he knew well before he became mayor-for-life “looked in control and in sharp focus.”

“But you know,” Yancy added, “he’s been through quite an ordeal, and none of us really know what kind of discussion he’s having with Angela and the family. So, time will tell.”

But Yancey did not doubt one unequivocal bit of political reality. The only challenger Tom Menino will have to worry about is … Tom Menino.

And like the good preacher said, “The dude gangsta-walked down that aisle.”